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Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures
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Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 8581

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Han Su

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: structural engineering; bridge engineering; steel–concrete composite structures; steel structures; structural durability
Dr. Qikai Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: bridge engineering; steel–concrete composite structure; vehicle–bridge coupling vibration; structural dynamics; structural health monitoring; earthquake engineering; structural reliability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Steel–concrete structures are a subject of great interest to researchers, as the past few decades have seen outstanding advances in their use in practical engineering. This Special Issue is dedicated but not limited to up-to-date research developments on experimental, theoretical, and computational works on steel–concrete structures, including failure and fracture analyses, dynamics and vibrations, seismic performance, connections, structural components, buildings and bridges, buckling and stability, design methods, analytical methods, fabrication and maintenance, durability performance, and new construction materials. This Special Issue also wishes to bridge the gap between theoretical developments and practical engineering for the benefit of academic researchers and engineers; therefore, contributions from the industry are also welcome.

Dr. Han Su
Dr. Qikai Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • structural engineering
  • steel–concrete structure
  • risk analysis
  • structural safety
  • construction material
  • structural dynamics
  • structural design method
  • structural durability

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

34 pages, 4915 KB  
Article
Experimental Study on Seismic Behavior of Irregular-Shaped Steel-Beam-to-CFST Column Joints with Inclined Internal Diaphragms
by Peng Li, Jialiang Jin, Chen Shi, Wei Wang and Weifeng Jiao
Buildings 2025, 15(24), 4514; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15244514 (registering DOI) - 13 Dec 2025
Abstract
With the increasing functional and geometric complexity of modern steel buildings, irregular-shaped beam-to-column joints are becoming common in engineering practice. However, their seismic behavior remains insufficiently understood, particularly for configurations with geometric asymmetry and complex stress transfer mechanisms. This study experimentally investigates the [...] Read more.
With the increasing functional and geometric complexity of modern steel buildings, irregular-shaped beam-to-column joints are becoming common in engineering practice. However, their seismic behavior remains insufficiently understood, particularly for configurations with geometric asymmetry and complex stress transfer mechanisms. This study experimentally investigates the seismic performance of irregular steel-beam-to-concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) column joints incorporating inclined internal diaphragms (IIDs), taking unequal-depth beam (UDB) and staggered beam (SB) joints as representative cases. Two full-scale joint specimens were designed and tested under cyclic loading to evaluate their failure modes, load-bearing capacity, stiffness/strength degradation, energy dissipation capacity, strain distribution, and panel zone shear behavior. Both joints exhibited satisfactory strength and initial stiffness. Although diaphragm fracture occurred at approximately 3% drift, the joints retained 45–60% of their peak load capacity, based on the average strength of several loading cycles at the same drift level after diaphragm failure, and maintained stable hysteresis with average equivalent damping ratios above 0.20. Final failure was governed by successive diaphragm fracture followed by the tearing of the column wall, indicating that the adopted diaphragm thickness (equal to the beam flange thickness) was insufficient and that welding quality significantly affected joint performance. Refined finite element (FE) models were developed and validated against the test responses, reasonably capturing global strength, initial stiffness, and the stress concentration patterns prior to diaphragm fracture. The findings of this study provide a useful reference for the seismic design and further development of internal-diaphragm irregular steel-beam-to-CFST column joints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
14 pages, 1825 KB  
Article
A Deep Learning-Based Method for Measuring Apparent Disease Areas of Sling Sheaths
by Jinsheng Du, Haibin Liu, Yaoyang Liu, Zhiqiang Xu, Sen Liu and Shunquan Lu
Buildings 2025, 15(3), 375; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15030375 - 25 Jan 2025
Viewed by 974
Abstract
The sling sheath plays an important protective role in the sling of suspension bridges, effectively preventing accidental damage to the sling caused by wind, fatigue and other impacts. To conduct a quantitative analysis of the apparent disease of suspension bridge slings, a method [...] Read more.
The sling sheath plays an important protective role in the sling of suspension bridges, effectively preventing accidental damage to the sling caused by wind, fatigue and other impacts. To conduct a quantitative analysis of the apparent disease of suspension bridge slings, a method for segmenting and quantifying the apparent disease of the sling sheath using deep learning and image processing was proposed. A total of 1408 disease images were obtained after image acquisition of a suspension bridge following sling replacement. MATLAB 2021a Image Labeler software was used to establish a disease dataset by manual labelling. Then, the MobileNetV2 model was trained and tested on the dataset to determine disease segmentation; additionally, an area measurement algorithm was proposed based on the images’ projection relationships. Finally, the measurement results were compared with the manually acquired crack area. The results show that the accuracy of background and sheath category pixels in the MobileNetV2 model is above 97%, indicating that the model achieves satisfactory results in these classifications. However, the accuracy of crack category pixels and the intersection over union ratio only reaches 80%, which needs to be improved by setting model correction coefficients. When measuring directly, it was found that the area measurement error of the test image mainly ranged between 8% and 30%, and the measurement error of the crack area after correction mainly ranged between −3% and 15%, indicating that the area measurement method can achieve a higher degree of measurement accuracy. The method for segmenting and quantifying the apparent disease of the sling sheath based on deep learning and image processing fills the research gap in the measurement of the surface damage area caused by apparent disease and has the advantages of high efficiency and high recognition accuracy. Reducing the maintenance costs of suspension bridge slings is crucial for promoting comprehensive intelligent detection of bridges and advancing the smart transformation of the civil engineering industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
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14 pages, 4994 KB  
Article
The Influence of Shear Connectors in a Longitudinal Arrangement on Free Vibrations of Steel–Concrete Composite Beams
by Qikai Sun, Chao Zhang, Yateng Yan, Chaoxun Cai, Kebing Li and Nan Zhang
Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3536; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113536 - 5 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1113
Abstract
In this work, the role of longitudinal shear connectors in mitigating free vibrations of steel–concrete composite beams (SCCBs) is scrutinized utilizing an innovative finite element methodology. In the proposed methodology, partial shear connection between the adjacent sub-beams is considered, and the SCCBs with [...] Read more.
In this work, the role of longitudinal shear connectors in mitigating free vibrations of steel–concrete composite beams (SCCBs) is scrutinized utilizing an innovative finite element methodology. In the proposed methodology, partial shear connection between the adjacent sub-beams is considered, and the SCCBs with various stiffnesses are modeled under four common boundary conditions, namely, (a) simply supported ends (S-S), (b) one clamped end and one free end (C-F), (c) one clamped end and one simply supported end (C-S), and (d) clamped ends (C-C). Thereafter, successful verification of the proposed methodology’s efficacy is achieved through comparative analysis with the theoretical results. Lastly, a reasonable arrangement along this longitudinal direction of shear connectors is proposed based on the change law of the squared fundamental frequency ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
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18 pages, 5282 KB  
Article
Study on the Degradation Model of Service Performance in Railway Steel–Concrete Composite Beams Considering the Cumulative Fatigue of Steel Beams and Studs Based on Vehicle–Bridge Coupling Theory
by Ce Gao, Cheng Zhang and Bing Han
Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3391; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113391 - 25 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1098
Abstract
The steel–concrete composite beam, as a structural form that combines the advantages of steel and concrete, has been applied in railway engineering. However, with the increase in railway operation time, the degradation pattern of the service performance of steel–concrete composite bridges remains unclear. [...] Read more.
The steel–concrete composite beam, as a structural form that combines the advantages of steel and concrete, has been applied in railway engineering. However, with the increase in railway operation time, the degradation pattern of the service performance of steel–concrete composite bridges remains unclear. This paper proposes a method for calculating the long-term service performance of railway steel–concrete composite beams, considering the cumulative fatigue damage of steel beams and studs, based on the vehicle–bridge coupling theory and Miner’s linear cumulative damage criterion. The proposed method is validated using measured data from an in-service steel–concrete composite railway bridge with spans of 40 + 50 + 40 m. The calculated mid-span vertical displacement and the first two natural frequencies of the composite beam deviated from the measured results by only 2.1%, 7.7%, and 9.5%, respectively. The research results can provide a basis for extending the service life of composite beams and preventing the occurrence of safety accidents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
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29 pages, 6243 KB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimisation and Deformation Analysis of Double-System Composite Guideway Based on NSGA-II
by Zhengwei Bai and Eryu Zhu
Buildings 2024, 14(10), 3115; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14103115 - 28 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1372
Abstract
To study the optimal design of the section of the double-system composite guideway under the economic, steel consumption, and carbon emission characteristics, this paper introduced the multi-objective constrained optimisation model, which was established by the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. In addition, the [...] Read more.
To study the optimal design of the section of the double-system composite guideway under the economic, steel consumption, and carbon emission characteristics, this paper introduced the multi-objective constrained optimisation model, which was established by the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. In addition, the finite element model was established to further analyse the optimised section’s deformation and summarise the rail girder’s deformation law under different loads. The results showed that compared with the original design scheme, the optimised scheme can effectively reduce carbon emission during the construction of the double-system composite guideway, by 23.67% for Scheme I and 42.03% for Scheme II. On the other hand, steel had the largest share in the economic targets of the three design options, accounting for about 75% to 88.5% of the total cost. Concrete had the highest share of carbon emissions, ranging from 90% to 95% of the total carbon emissions. The distribution patterns of horizontal and vertical deformations in the three design options were independent of the load type as well as the load magnitude, but the vertical deformations were related to the load type, especially the self-weight load. The conclusions of this paper aim to fill the gap in the theoretical study of section optimisation of the double-system composite guideway and lay the theoretical foundation for developing the multi-system monorail transportation system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
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14 pages, 2681 KB  
Article
An Investigation into the Impact of Time-Varying Non-Conservative Loads on the Seismic Stability of Concrete-Filled Steel-Tube Arch Bridges
by Xu Han, Bing Han, Yikuan He, Pengfei Li and Huibing Xie
Buildings 2024, 14(9), 2739; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14092739 - 31 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1668
Abstract
When the arch rib of the mid-bearing through and lower-bearing through arch bridges undergoes out-of-plane deformation, it is usually subject to the resilience force provided by the flexible hanger, which is known as the “non-conservative force effect” of the suspender. In contrast to [...] Read more.
When the arch rib of the mid-bearing through and lower-bearing through arch bridges undergoes out-of-plane deformation, it is usually subject to the resilience force provided by the flexible hanger, which is known as the “non-conservative force effect” of the suspender. In contrast to the static condition, in the dynamic scenario, the time-varying non-conservative force exerted by the flexible suspender becomes more complex due to dynamic changes in external load. Moreover, the difference in fundamental frequency and vibration period between the bridge system and arch rib may influence the stress distribution within the arch rib during ground motion. This paper investigates the impact of time-varying non-conservative forces on the dynamic stability of arch ribs in concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) bridges under seismic loads. Specifically, it examines the influence of different seismic waveforms, frequency disparities between bridge slabs and arch ribs, and suspender stiffness on the non-conservative effect. The results reveal significant disparities in the impact of non-conservative forces exerted by the suspender during seismic events with identical intensity but varying frequency characteristics. The influence of non-conservative forces on the dynamic stability of bridges escalates as deck stiffness increases, while it remains relatively unaffected by changes in suspender stiffness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
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34 pages, 6182 KB  
Article
The Elastic-Analysis-Based Study on the Internal Force and Deformation of the Double-System Composite Guideway
by Zhengwei Bai, Eryu Zhu, Wenchao Cai, Honghe Jian and Jiacheng Li
Buildings 2024, 14(9), 2718; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14092718 - 30 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1268
Abstract
To fill the gaps in the theoretical research on the internal force and deformation of the DSCG, the development law of the internal force and deformation of DSCG was explored in conjunction with the theory of elastic analysis. In addition, a finite element [...] Read more.
To fill the gaps in the theoretical research on the internal force and deformation of the DSCG, the development law of the internal force and deformation of DSCG was explored in conjunction with the theory of elastic analysis. In addition, a finite element model was established to validate the calculation results. The results showed that using different pre-stressing increment calculation methods affected the calculation results of the composite interface deformation, with the equivalent section method accounting for 0.74% and the principle of the virtual work method for 0.03%. On the other hand, the development of internal forces and deformations in the DSCG was closely related to the magnitude of the load forms and axle weights. At the same time, material non-linearity had less influence on these factors. Finally, the development patterns of the internal forces and deformations of the DSCG with different spans were similar. The specific values were closely related to the span of the guideway, and the interfacial slip, axial force, and deflection of the DSCG with span L = 25 m were 0.60, 0.41, and 0.23 times those of the DSCG with span L = 35 m, respectively. The conclusions of this paper fill the gaps in the theoretical study of multi-system guideways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Structural Mechanics of Steel–Concrete Composite Structures)
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